Tennessee Reenters AP Poll After Gritty Road Win at Vanderbilt

Image: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

By Aidan Sidoti

Tennessee is finally back in the rankings this week. The Vols reentered the AP Top 25 at No. 22 on Monday after another 2-0 week, showcased by an 89-66 win over Oklahoma on Wednesday and a 69-65 road victory at Vanderbilt on Saturday.

The win in Nashville was the kind of late-season ugly win that moves you up seed lines heading into March. Tennessee closed the game on a 12-5 run and didn’t miss a field goal in the final three minutes.

The storyline moment came from Nate Ament, once again, who buried a contested 13-footer with 54 seconds left to put Tennessee ahead for good. Ament finished with 13 points in the most physical game he’s played in all year.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie turned in a good all-around performance on the road, posting 17 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals. His 29-foot three to tie the game with under three minutes remaining after a Devin McGlockton off-steal layup was a momentum changer.

Tennessee’s defensive adjustment on Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner was just as important. Tanner torched the Vols early, scoring 11 points on 4‑for‑4 shooting in the first half. After halftime, Tennessee held him to five points on 1-for-5 shooting.

The Vols have now won eight of their last nine and 15 of their last 17. At 20-7 (9-4 SEC), Tennessee heads to Columbia on Tuesday night to face a Missouri team fighting to stay alive on the tournament bubble.

Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET airing on SEC Network.